Jiang Fa emerged from Wang Shi's courtyard.
He clutched the map of Black Wind Ridge. Wang Shi had folded the parchment so many times that its edges were frayed, and the dense annotations looked like trails left by crawling ants.
The training ground gradually grew more crowded.
Several inner courtyard disciples were practicing their stances around ironwood posts, each grimacing through the effort.
Jiang Fa skirted the center of the training ground and headed toward the northwest corner.
The northwest corner stood beside the martial hall's rear wall, where a row of poplars grew. It was a secluded spot that few people usually visited.
Before he drew close, he heard a sharp whistle cutting through the air.
Jiang Fa slowed his steps.
Beneath the shade, a fair-skinned young man held a goose-feather saber, slowly practicing in the morning light.
His movements were not fast, but every move was exceedingly steady. The blade sliced through the air, giving off piercing whistles,
like the cries of wild geese, or autumn wind sweeping over withered branches.
The Cloak Saber Technique.
Jiang Fa recognized it at a glance.
He was practicing this saber technique himself, but compared to Lin Feng, the difference was plain to see.
Lin Feng's saber movements flowed without end, one stroke following another without the slightest hitch.
He seemed to have become one with the goose-feather saber. The saber followed his movements, and he turned with its course. As his robes fluttered, the wind from his blade swept up the fallen leaves on the ground. Clearly, his saber technique had reached minor achievement.
Jiang Fa made no sound, simply standing outside the shade and watching quietly.
Lin Feng finished a sequence of the Cloak Saber Technique, sheathed his saber, and exhaled a long plume of white breath.
"Had your fill of watching?"
Lin Feng turned around, a trace of puzzlement flashing through his eyes as he looked at Jiang Fa.
"Excellent saber technique, Senior Brother Lin." Jiang Fa cupped his fist and bowed.
Lin Feng waved a hand. "Spare me the flattery. Did you come looking for me for something?"
Jiang Fa did not deny it. He nodded and said, "Nothing escapes your calculations, Senior Brother."
Lin Feng walked over to a whetstone beneath the trees and sat down. He looked up at Jiang Fa, clearly remembering him somewhat. "Go on. What do you need?"
Jiang Fa did not beat around the bush either. He took the map of Black Wind Ridge from inside his robes and spread it on the bare ground between them.
"Eldest Senior Brother sent me to ask your advice about Black Wind Ridge, Senior Brother Lin."
Lin Feng's gaze fell on the map. He paused slightly, then reached out and pulled it closer. After carefully examining the cinnabar annotations, he suddenly smiled.
"I drew this map three years ago. I didn't expect Senior Brother Wang to have kept it."
His finger traveled over the map as he spoke at an unhurried pace. "Eldest Senior Brother told you the basics, right?"
"Yes." Jiang Fa nodded. "Low-grade first-tier ferocious beasts on the outskirts, high-grade first-tier ferocious beasts in the middle region, and the core is second-tier ferocious beast territory."
"It seems Eldest Senior Brother really does consider you one of us."
Lin Feng raised his head and glanced at Jiang Fa, a hint of amusement in his gaze.
"Eldest Senior Brother doesn't usually say much, but he sees everything clearly. If he told you so much, it means he thinks highly of you."
He paused, his finger stopping at several places along the boundary between Black Wind Ridge's outskirts and middle region. "But there are some things Eldest Senior Brother might not tell you."
"Please go ahead, Senior Brother."
Lin Feng pointed at several places circled in cinnabar on the map. "Eldest Senior Brother only told you about the distribution of ferocious beasts. But he didn't tell you that some things are more frightening than ferocious beasts."
Jiang Fa said nothing, merely watching him quietly.
"First, water sources." Lin Feng tapped the stream markings on the map several times. "Black Wind Ridge doesn't have many water sources, just a few streams and springs. Ferocious beasts need to drink, and so do people. Near water sources, you're most likely to encounter ferocious beasts, and also other martial artists who've entered the mountains to hunt them."
His tone grew subtle. "The outskirts are still all right. The martial artists you meet are all at the Ming Jin level, and everyone keeps their well water out of everyone else's river. But once you enter the middle region, anyone you encounter will be an expert at late-stage Ming Jin at the very least, or even An Jin."
"When these people spend too long in Black Wind Ridge, evil thoughts take root in their hearts. Your prey, your medicinal herbs, even your life-all of them are good things in their eyes."
"Have you encountered that, Senior Brother?" Jiang Fa asked.
The smile on Lin Feng's face faded somewhat. He remained silent for a while before slowly speaking. "Two years ago, I saw a martial artist slaughter everyone traveling with him to seize a hundred-year-old blood lingzhi."
The air beneath the trees seemed to freeze for an instant.
"For that lingzhi, he feigned injury. When his close friend and an Iron-Claw Savage Bear had fought until both were badly injured, he drove a saber into his friend's back, straight through the heart."
Jiang Fa fell silent.
Seeing that he said nothing, Lin Feng softened his tone somewhat. "I'm not telling you this to make you beat the retreat drum. I just want you to know what you're dealing with."
"Once you enter Black Wind Ridge, you must guard against people even more than ferocious beasts."
"Not a single person who spends a long time roaming Black Wind Ridge is someone to take lightly."
"With your current strength, remember that you can only operate on the outskirts. Stay careful and vigilant at all times. Don't be careless. Caution keeps a ship sailing for ten thousand years."
"I understand." Jiang Fa nodded. "Thank you for the warning, Senior Brother."
Seeing his solemn expression, Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction.
Then he took a brush and circled a spot on the map. "Some blood-coagulating grass grows here. I happened to find it the last time I left the mountains, but it was still immature seedlings then. Once you go in this time, you can try your luck there. You might find an unexpected delight."
These words already amounted to laying his heart bare.
Jiang Fa nodded and thanked him solemnly.
Lin Feng looked Jiang Fa over, then suddenly changed the subject. "By the way, what weapon do you use?"
Jiang Fa paused. "I don't have a weapon yet."
"No weapon?"
Lin Feng frowned and asked again, "Then have you studied any weapon-based martial arts?"
Jiang Fa nodded and answered honestly, "Yes. A while ago, I chose a saber technique from the Martial Arts Repository."
"A saber technique?" Lin Feng looked him up and down. "Where's your saber?"
"I don't have one yet."
Jiang Fa spread his hands, somewhat helpless.
His purse was empty these days. Where would he find spare money to buy a saber?
In the several months since he had joined the martial hall, he had always practiced unarmed combat. Although he had reached entry in the Cloak Saber Technique, he had practiced entirely with the wooden sabers on the training ground.
"Come with me." Hearing this, Lin Feng wasted no words. He rose and brushed the dirt off his backside.
The two went to the rear courtyard, where Lin Feng found Steward Ma and obtained a bunch of keys.
A little farther back stood a large building of blue bricks and gray tiles, with a rusty iron padlock hanging beneath its lintel.
Lin Feng took out the keys, selected one, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it twice. The iron lock sprang open with a click.
As they pushed the door open and entered, the mingled smell of rust and tung oil rushed into their faces.
The room was dim, with only a few shafts of sunlight coming through a narrow window.
Three rows of weapon racks stood against the wall. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, and forks densely covered the entire wall.
Some weapons had been polished bright, their edges gleaming coldly. Others lay beneath a thick layer of dust, with cobwebs stretching from them down to the feet of the racks.
Lin Feng went straight to the innermost saber rack. Seven or eight sabers of varying lengths lay across it: goose-feather sabers, willow-leaf sabers, demon-head sabers, horse-chopping sabers, and two unusually shaped sabers Jiang Fa could not name.
"These sabers were all left by former inner courtyard disciples. Some went elsewhere, and some died out there, so their sabers were left here gathering dust."
Lin Feng ran his fingers past the sabers on the rack one by one.
"Pick one that suits your hand."
Jiang Fa approached the rack, his gaze sweeping over the sabers.
The goose-feather saber was too light, and the willow-leaf saber too thin. The demon-head saber was heavy enough, but its blade was broad and thick, unsuitable for a technique like the Cloak Saber Technique, which used speed to overcome slowness.
The horse-chopping saber was too long. In a place like Black Wind Ridge, with its deep forests and dense undergrowth, he would not even have room to swing it.
His gaze finally settled on a saber on the lowest tier of the rack.
It was a plain saber.
Its blade was about two feet seven or eight inches long, with a broad spine, a thin edge, and a slightly upturned tip. Coarse hemp cord wrapped the hilt, worn black and shiny.
A thin layer of dust covered the blade, but its edge remained sharp, glinting with a deep, cold gleam in the dim light.
Jiang Fa bent down, picked up the plain saber, and hefted it.
Its weight was moderate, its center of gravity forward, and it felt secure in his hand.
He gave it an experimental swing. The blade cut through the air with a low moan.
Lin Feng walked over and glanced at the saber in his hand, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Zhou Ping left this saber behind. He died out there last year."
Jiang Fa's hand paused slightly.
"Don't worry. It wasn't the one he carried when he died."
Lin Feng smiled.
"He used this one in his earlier years. Later, he replaced it with a better one, and this one was left here. It's a good saber, forged from hundred-refined steel. Far better than anything you could buy in the shops outside."
Holding the saber, Jiang Fa remained silent for a moment, then solemnly cupped his fist and bowed to Lin Feng. "Thank you for lending me a saber, Senior Brother."
"No need to thank me. It was just sitting here gathering dust anyway."
Lin Feng waved a hand, then grew serious. "But let me put the unpleasant words first. I'm lending you this saber to protect yourself, not to show off. Once you enter Black Wind Ridge, remember what I just told you. Stay alert when something happens. If you really can't win, run. There's no shame in running back. Dying out there is what's shameful."
He walked to the armory door and glanced back at Jiang Fa.
He cautioned him, "Black Wind Ridge is no kindly place. Be careful in everything. Better to return empty-handed than gamble with your life."
Jiang Fa nodded, his tone sincere. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."